Door control system



NOV. 28, Q GREEN DOOR CONTROL SYSTEM Filed June l, 1965 1N VEA/TOR.CLARK L. GREEN BY Ma Olm/wwe uw l /Hornex S Fig. 3.

United States Patent O 3,354,677 D001( CONTRGL SYSTEM Clark L. Green,3155 N. Bancroft, Indianapolis, Ind. 46218 Filed June 1, 1965, Ser. No.460,591 2 Claims. (Cl. 70-279) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLSURE A key-enabled,knob-operated door latch cooperating with a solenoid-operated strikeoperable by building occupants from 4remote locations in the building. Aseparate, wall-mounted lock assembly with keyway accessible to mailmanoutside building and operable by his key but not the door latch key. Anormally-open switch closable by key operation of the separate lock tooperate the strike for access to the building by the mailman.

Background of the invention This invention relates generally to traiiiccontrol of entrance doors to apartments, banks, oices, factories, andinstitutions. It relates more particularly to means whereby anauthorized individual or class of individuals is able to gain access tothe interior of a building by the use of a lock different from the lockused by others for normal access to the interior of the building.

In certain buildings, such as apartment buildings, it is desirable toenable the entrance of certain individuals. For example, it is desirableto enable the mailman of the United States Post Office to enter thebuilding for mail deliveries, and yet exclude all other persons, exceptoccupants of the building and those whom the occupants wish to admit,when made aware of their presence at the entrance door. One possible wayto do this would be to provide the mailman with a key to the lock on theentrance door. However certain policies, regulations, or otherconsiderations, prevent the mailman from accepting a key to the usualdoor lock. Another possibility would be to employ an electricallyoperated door strike so that when the mailman arrives at the building,and makes his presence at the entrance door known to an .occupant insidethe building, the occupant can operate the door strike to release thedoor and allow the mailman to enter. A hazard present in this type ofarrangement is that an occupant will be deluded by an imposter, who thengains access to the building.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to providemeans whereby authorized individuals or classes of individuals can gainaccess to the interior of locked buildings, without the necessity ofidentification by occupants thereof, and without being required to usethe conventional entrance door lock. Y

A further object is to provide a means whereby a separate lock ofconventional construction but owned and operable exclusively by anauthorized organization or its employees or agents, enables entry.

Described brieiiy, in a typical embodiment of the present invention, anentrance door to an apartment building is provided with a front doorknob with a key operated lock therein whereby the door can be opened bypersons possessing the key therefor. An electrically operated door lockstrike is alsovemployed so that occupants of individual apartments inthe building can, by remote 'control, operate the strike and release thelatch to allow entrance by individuals whom they know and recognize.According to the present invention, the strike is also operable by a keyoperated lock mounted in the building wall near the door. This lock canbe operated by lCe a key from outside the building, but cannot beoperated in any other manner.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

FIG. l is a front elevational view showing a building entranceincorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a much enlarged sectional view therethrough taken along theline 2-2 in FIG. l and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a still further enlargement of the lock control box as seenfrom the rear, including a cover plate.

FIG. 4 is a section therethrough taken along the line 4 4 in FIG. 3 andviewed in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the building designated generallyby the dotted outline 11 has an outside -wall 12, the outer surface 13of which may be of any vor metal siding material. A door opening isprovided in the wall at 14 and has a door 16 swingably mounted in theopening by means of the hinges 17 mounted to the door jamb. At theswinging edge of the door is a latch 18 operable by the outside knob 19when the door is unlocked and by the inside knob 21 at any time, suchlatch operating knob assemblies being well known and of conventionalconstruction. A door stop 22 is provided to permit swinging of the dooroutwardly only, although the present invention can be practiced withdoors which are capable of swinging either or both ways. The knob 19 hasa key way 24 therein, the slot for which opens outwardly to the outdoorspace 26 in front of the building and outside the wall 12.

An electrically operated latch strike assembly 27 is provided, and thismay be of conventional construction. The strike 28 is normally in theposition shown, but may be pulled in the direction of the arrow 29 aboutthe pivot 31 by energization of the solenoid winding 32, the armature 33being connected to the strike. By so doing, the strike 28 is moved outof the position where it can prevent the door from being openedoutwardly, whereupon the door may be opened without retracting the latch18. This, too, is a conventional type of construction. However,according to the present invention a box 34 is mounted in the wall an-dhas a mounting plate 36 thereon and a face plate 37 thereon, the faceplate having an outer face of an attractive material properly blending`with the exterior decor. Inside this box is a normally open switch 3Shaving an operating plunger 39, and having a pair of contactors 41 and42 therein. Although the switch unit itself, which lmay be ofconventional construction such as furnished by the Micro Switch Company,has the contact 42 biased in a direction tending to close it withcontact 41, a lock assembly 43 is also provided in the box according tothis invention and has a deadbolt 44 therein holding the plunger 39 in aposition keeping the contactors 41 and 42 separated.

Although the lock 43 may be of conventional construction, and have acylinder 46 therein with a key-way and key-slot 47 facing outwardly inthe same direction as the slot 24 in the door knob, a feature of thepresent invention is the fact that the key which is used and which willoperate the lock 43 is diiierent from the key for the door knob lock andwill not operate that lock. Likewise the key which will operate the doorknob lock 45 will not operate the lock 43. The appropriate key, Wheninserted in lock 43 will serve to rotate the cylinder 46 and move thedeadbolt in the direction of the arrow 48 to allow the switch contactors41 and 42 to close.

Referring further to FIG. 3, the electrical input to the door controlsystem may be applied to the box 34 through the input lines 49 which maybe connected to a llO volt supply, for example. Although a plug 51 forthis purpose is shown, the connection may be directly through a fuse boxor otherwise. rThis supply input energizes the primary coil 52 of thetransformer 53, which steps down the voltage to the secondary coil 54 toa level which is typically employed in electric door strikes. Gne lead56 from the secondary winding is connected directly to one end of thelock strike solenoid Winding, whereas the other lead 57 from thesecondary winding 54 may be connected through one of three sets ofswitch contacts, in the illustrated embodiment. The first set ofcontacts has already been mentioned, they being contactors 41 and 42which, when closed, supply current through the lead 58 to the other endof the lock strike solenoid. Another switch 59 is shown in parallel withcontactors 41 and 42 and may be located in a box number 61 in a room 62of the building remote from the front door. By closing this switch 59,the strike is energized to release the door. Another switch 63 may belocated in a block 64 in another room of the building, and may bemanually operated or could be operated by a telephone control or someother means. Switch 59 is push button operated.

The construction of the present invention makes it possible for the postoffice department, for example, to furnish the lock 43, which would beowned by the post of .ce and the keys to which would be retainedexclusively in the possession of the post oflice. Thus the postman couldgain access to the building interior by employing his key for operatingthe deadbolt to close the switch contacts 41 and 42 and release thestrike. Naturally for this purpose the distance between the key slot 47and the door should be within convenient reach of an average adult.

Normally the box 34 with the mounting face 36 thereon and face plate 37afiixed thereto would be secured to the wall by cementing the face plateto the exterior surface of th. wall. In this manner there is no way to`gain access t-o the lock or switch arrangement without destroying theface plate. Positive assurance is thereby provided that unnoticedtampering cannot take place.

If for any reason the unit must be removed, the face plate can bedestroyed to remove the box from the wall and the post office lock canbe removed therefrom by simply releasing the screws 64 and dismountingthe lock from the mounting plate 36. The box 34 may be secured to theImounting plate by means of screws 66 in the ears 67 and a rear cover 68can also be mounted to the box by screws 69, although a one-piece boxcan be employed, if desired.

it will be recognized that it is not essential that the knob have akey-slot therein, so long as the latch is somehow operable by the keysor key which the normal occupants or occupant of the building have intheir possession. A key operated latch, even without a knob could beemployed, if the door did swing inwardly, rather than outwardly. The keycould then be turned and the door pushed inwardly. Again, an importantfeature is that the key used for the latch operation be ldifferent fromthat used for the operation of lock 43, and that the key useful in theone lock is not useful in the other lock. It should be recognized, ofcourse, that other means for operating the lock or releasing the strikeor latch could be employed lsuch as combination locks.

While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail inthe drawings and foregoing descripti-on, 'they are to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modificationsmay readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art and withinthe broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the :appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a building structure, the combination comprising:

a building wall having a first opening therein;

a door hingedly mounted in `said opening and swingable between an openposition and a closed position closing said opening;

a stop -on said wall, said stop permitting said door to swing in onedirection only from its closed position;

a knob operated latch at the swinging edge of said door;

an electrically operable strike in said wall at the edge of saidopening, said latch being normally received in said strike and engagedthereby, preventing said door from opening;

a first key operated lock connected between said latch and said knob andhaving a key-slot therein and operable when locked to prevent unlatchingof said door by said knob, said first lock being operable to an unlockedcondition by a first key to enable unlatehing of said door by operationof said knob;

solenoid means in said strike and operable, when energized, to disengagesaid latch and release said door to swing open;

a receptacle in said wall;

a second key operated lock in said receptacle and having a key-slottherein facing outwardly from said wall in the same direction as thekey-slot in said first lock;

a deadbolt in said second lock;

a source of electrical energy;

a first normally-open electrical switch in a circuit with said sourceand said solenoid means, said switch being normally held `open -by saiddeadbolt, said second lock being operable to unlocked condition by asecond key inoperative in said first lock, said second lock, whenoperated to an unlocked condition moving said deadbolt to a secondposition enabling closure of said first switch, said first switchthereupon closing to make said circuit and energize said solenoid meansto release said door to swing open;

a second normally-open switch connected in parallel with said firstswitch, said second switch having operating means inside the buildingstructure, and said key-slots opening on the outside of said building,

said first key being inoperative in said second lock,

and said second lock being secured in sai-d building wall and operableonly by a key inserted in the keyslot thereof and only from outside thebuilding.

2. In a building structure, the combination comprising:

a building wall having a first opening therein;

a door mounted in said opening and swingable between an open positionand a closed position closing said opening;

a latch at the swinging edge of said door;

an electrically operable strike in said wall at the edge of saidopening, said latch being normally received in said strike and engagedthereby, preventing said door from opening;

a first key operated lock connected to said latch and having a key-slotand key-way therein and operable when locked to prevent unlatching ofsaid door by said knob, said first lock being operable to an unlockedcondition by a first key to operate said latch and enable opening ofsaid door;

solenoid means in said strike and operable, when energized, to disengagesaid latch and release said door to swing open;

a receptacle in said wall;

a second key operated lock in said receptacle and having a key-way andkey-slot therein facing 'outwardly from said wall in the same directionas the key-slot in said first lock;

a deadbolt in said second lock;

a source of electrical energy;

a first normally-open electrical switch in a circuit with said sourceand said solenoid means, said switch being normally held open by saiddeadbolt, said second lock being operable to unlocked condition by asec- OIld key nOperafl/ .in vSaid first lock, said second lock, whenoperated to an unlocked condition moving said deadbolt to a secondposition enabling closure of said rst switch, said first switchthereupon closing to make said circuit and energize Said solenoid meansto release said door to swing open;

a second normally-open switch connected in parallel with said rstswitch, said second switch having operating means inside the buildingstructure, and said key-slots opening on the outside of said building,

said rst key being inoperative in said second lock,

and said second lock being secured in said building wall and operableonly by a key inserted in the key-slot thereof and only from outside thebuilding.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Carleton 292-341.1

Lurie 29'2-341.1 McNeil 292-341.16 l Gaona 70--278 l OBrien 292-341.1

Sanchez 70-27 Germany.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A BUILDING STRUCTURE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A BUILDING WALLHAVING A FIRST OPENING THEREIN; A DOOR HINGEDLY MOUNTED IN SAID OPENINGAND SWINGABLE BETWEEN AN OPEN POSITION AND A CLOSED POSITION CLOSINGSAID OPENING; A STOP ON SAID WALL, SAID STOP PERMITTING SAID DOOR TOSWING IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY FROM ITS CLOSED POSITION; A KNOB OPERATEDLATCH AT THE SWINGING EDGE OF SAID DOOR; AN ELECTRICALLY OPERABLE STRIKEIN SAID WALL AT THE EDGE OF SAID OPENING, SAID LATCH BEING NORMALLYRECEIVED IN AND STRIKE AND ENGAGED THEREBY, PREVENTING SAID DOOR FROMOPENING; A FIRST KEY OPERATED LOCK CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID LATCH AND SAIDKNOB AND HAVING A KEY-SLOT THEREIN AND OPERABLE WHEN LOCKED TO PREVENTUNLATCHING OF SAID DOOR BY SAID KNOB, SAID FIRST LOCK BEING OPERABLE TOAN UNLOCKED CONDITION BY A FIRST KEY TO ENABLE UNLATCHING OF SAID DOORBY OPERATION OF SAID KNOB; SOLENOID MEANS IN SAID STRIKE AND OPERABLE,WHEN ENERGIZED, THE DISENGAGE SAID LATCH AND RELEASE SAID DOOR TO SWINGOPEN; A RECEPTACLE IN SAID WALL; A SECOND KEY OPERATED LOCK IN SAIDRECEPTACLE AND HAVING A KEY-SLOT THEREIN FACING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID WALLIN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE KEY-SLOT IN SAID FIRST LOCK; A DEADBOLT INSAID SECOND LOCK; A SOURCE OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY; A FIRST NORMALLY-OPENELECTRICAL SWITCH IN A CIRCUIT WITH SAID SOURCE AND SAID SOLENOID MEANS,SAID SWITCH BEING NORMALLY HELD OPEN BY SAID DEADBOLT, SAID SECOND LOCKBEING OPERABLE TO UNLOCKED CONDITION BY A SECOND KEY INOPERATIVE IN SAIDFIRST LOCK, SAID SECOND LOCK, WHEN OPERATED TO AN UNLOCKED CONDITIONMOVING SAID DEADBOLT TO A SECOND POSITION ENABLING CLOSURE OF SAID FIRSTSWITCH, SAID FIRST SWITCH THEREUPON CLOSING TO MAKE SAID CIRCUIT ANDENERGIZE SAID SOLENOID MEANS TO RELEASE SAID DOOR TO SWING OPEN; ASECOND NORMALLY-OPEN SWITCH CONNECTED IN PARALLEL WITH SAID FIRSTSWITCH, SAID SECOND SWITCH HAVING OPERATING MEANS INSIDE THE BUILDINGSTRUCTURE, AND SAID KEY-SLOT OPENING ON THE OUTSIDE OF SAID BUILDING,SAID FIRST KEY BEING INOPERATIVE IN SAID SECOND LOCK, AND SAID SECONDLOCK BEING SECURED IN SAID BUILDING WALL AND OPERABLE ONLY BY A KEYINSERTED IN THE KEYSLOT THEREOF AND ONLY FROM OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.